Stogie Guys Free Newsletter

Presented by:

I’ve written a few times about how 2014 was a year of significant cigar anniversaries, and thus also plenty of anniversary cigars. E.P. Carrillo celebrated its fifth year, for example, and the Padrón’s celebrated a half century in the business.

La Flor Dominicana had an anniversary, although not a significant one for the La Flor Dominicana brand. Still, 2014 marked 20 years since Litto Gomez started his cigar venture in 1994 (the La Flor Dominicana line wasn’t founded until two years later).

To celebrate, Gomez and La Flor Dominicana introduced a blend simply called 1994. The line comes in five sizes, including a special Toro (6 x 54) that comes in a very cool-looking beer stein. (I got a look at one in person at a local shop recently.)

The beer stein was delayed until early 2015, but the other sizes (Conga (5 x 52), Aldaba (6 x 58), Rumba (6.5 x 52), and Mambo (7 x 54)) were released in 2014. I smoked four of the robusto-sized Congas (MSRP $7.50) for this review.

In addition to the beer stein packaging, all the sizes feature a sharp-looking band. It’s a nice combination of the classic LFD bands with a more ornate touch worthy of a celebratory, anniversary cigar.

The cigar uses a dark San Andrés wrapper. Binder and filler are all Dominican from La Flor’s Dominican farms.

Once lit the cigar features lots of woody spice, leather, and charred steak. It starts out very full, but quickly dials back. There’s dry cinnamon, a slight sourness, and plenty of grittiness on the palate, but it’s a slightly superficial strength. Construction is excellent from first draw to the final ash.

The one drawback I found was a persistent sour, sometimes bitter edge that settles on the back corners of the tongue. Those flavors are frequently embraced when found in beer, like you might pour in a La Flor 1994 beer stein, but it doesn’t work quite as well in a cigar. Perhaps extended aging will see those flaws fade away.